Friday, 26 February 2010

NUJ: 'We'll fight BBC cuts'

The NUJ says it will fight the BBC proposals, leaked to The Times today, to make £600m of cuts which would including closing two radio staions - the BBC Asian Network and BBC 6 Music - and cutting the online budget by a quarter and disposing of BBC Worldwide's UK magazine titles.
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "If true, these cuts will result not just in the loss of hundreds of jobs, but the loss of valuable, quality output aimed at young people and the Asian communities. We will fight them with all our might.
"I will be meeting with BBC management today, where I will seek assurances around job security for our NUJ members at the BBC and will make clear that we will do everything that's required - including taking industrial action, if necessary, to defend jobs at the BBC."Update: Jeremy Dear and Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of BECTU, received a detailed briefing from Lucy Adams, director BBC People, today, confirming media reports as largely correct. The BBC issued a statement to its staff this afternoon.
Dear said: "It is deeply disappointing that staff once again face a period of turmoil and uncertainty as a result of these leaks. We have received initial assurances that the proposals are subject to consultation and that any staffing changes will not happen until next year. There will be further meetings with BBC management in the coming days at which we will seek further details about the plans.
“If true, these plans smack of an attempt to appease commercial and political interests. Hard-working staff shouldn't be used as a political football and we will fight any compulsory redundancies.”

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based in the UK and was deputy editor of Press Gazette, the journalists' magazine, from 1993 until 2006. I want to give an independent view on media matters.
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